President Anastasiades Says Conditions Not Ready for Cyprus Talks

Cyprus President Anastasiades, (L), Special Representative of the UN in Cyprus Elizabeth Spehar,(Center) and Mustafa Akinci, (R), leader of occupied Northern Cyprus, before their informal meeting at the UN Protected Area on Tuesday. Source: UN

Cyprus President Nicos Anastasiades said on Tuesday that conditions aren’t yet ripe for a resumption of formal talks to reunify the divided island nation.

He made the remarks after a meeting with Turkish Cypriot leader Mustafa Akinci, which was hosted by the United Nations.

Anastasiades noted that negotiations are currently going through a “difficult phase,” and that both sides remain apart on key issues regarding power-sharing and security arrangements.

The two leaders agreed on several measures to boost confidence, including an arrangement enabling people living in the breakaway north and the internationally-recognized south to use their mobile telephones on either side.

According to a UN statement, Akinci announced his side’s decision to hand over a host of religious icons and other artifacts which were stored in Kyrenia Castle in the aftermath of the 1974 Turkish invasion.

The Greek Cypriot side will hand over visual and audio recordings of Turkish Cypriot artists which were stored by the Cypriot state broadcaster, CyBC.